The story of a bustling and glamorous five star hotel at the centre of London society and a world at war.
The peaks and the valleys. Find the essential episodes — and the ones to skip.
The hotel prepares for 50th anniversary celebrations: Lady Hamilton's getting into the spirit, but she can't help Toby's anxiety. He attempts to talk to her about Lucian, but is interrupted by the man himself: there seems to be no escape.
Emma joins the WRVS and whilst Richard is fearful for her safety he is proud enough of her to buy her uniform. During a particularly fierce air raid she is shadowed by O' Hara, who risks his life by staying with her throughout the raid to tend the wounded and protect the dead from scavengers, resulting in a better mutual understanding. However the raid claims its first victim from the hotel staff. Lucian sees Adil sneaking out of Toby's room and, whilst assuring Toby of his discretion, seeks to blackmail Adil into revealing more about Toby's hush-hush work. Betsey angers Sonny with her decision to quit his band for more lucrative work - but when he learns that it is to repay him for bribing Gloria to leave a declaration of love follows.
As Lucian D'Abberville continues to pressure Adil into betraying his lover MI5 officer Mortimer arrives at the Halcyon to investigate Toby over leaked information and Toby has cause to be grateful to Freddie and family friend Lord Ambrose for saving him . However Toby suspects Adil of informing on him and ends their affair. Sonny stands up to racists objecting to his relationship with Betsey and Peggy draws closer to Richard after her bereavement and the evacuation of her little girl. Emma is also finding O'Hara attractive as he becomes more helpful to her but the most shocking amatory news comes when Lady Hamilton announces her engagement to D'Abberville, whom both her sons and Richard are beginning to see as an unknown quantity and a possible liability.
May 1940:- At the Halcyon hotel in London discreet manager Richard Garland turns a blind eye when the promiscuous owner Lord Hamilton smuggles in his flighty mistress Charity Lambert to sit in on a secret meeting of the appeasement party. When his wife Lady Hamilton arrives unexpectedly Richard and his receptionist daughter Emma, assisted by housekeeper Lilian and porter Feldman, act quickly to prevent her from catching the couple together. Emma is mutually attracted to RAF pilot Freddie, the Hamiltons' elder son who turns up with researcher brother Toby but Betsey, the out-spoken dance band singer, warns Emma that Freddie is out of her league. At a party for Freddie his father's indiscretions are common knowledge with the staff and Lady Hamilton despite the pair putting up a united front. They are all observed by American journalist Joe O'Hara, whose plan to expose Hamilton's political stance in a broadcast home leads to disaster.
Each point is an episode, plotted in order. Colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for the rise, the plateau, or the decline.
High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.
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